Trick or treat
by Trice
Summary: Logan invites Max to go trick or treating. ML
1. Default Chapter

  
_AN: This is a completed fic. The next two parts will be posted this weekend.   
  
I know. Most of you have thought me dead. And I probably am. These days I' m   
just a zombie hoping to make it through another workday. But considering that   
almost half my fic is Halloween related, it' s probably fitting that I come back to   
life on All Hallow' s Eve, to haunt you.   
Some of you have been promised more chapters by a long passed due date. I' m   
sorry. All I can say at this point is: I'll be back. Mwhahaha.  
_  
  
**Trick or treat**  
  
Let's just say that for the purposes of this story Freak Nation took place at the   
end of October.  
  
_3 AM, Terminal City_  
  
She didn't know how late it was or for how long she had dozed off. Her head   
rose abruptly from the table she was sitting at and in the sudden movement, it hit   
the light bulb suspended from the ceiling by a long cable. For a moment, the light   
flickered, on and off again, revealing the sparely furnished room she called her   
own. After all, she had spent a couple of hours in there in the last few days.   
  
In the darkness, Max strained her hearing, hoping to find out what had awakened   
her so abruptly. But there was nothing. The light hum of the generator Dix had set   
up nearby reached her ears and nothing else. The black sky, visible it seemed   
from each and every spot in Terminal City, provided cover for the transgenics but   
for once the compound seemed to have settled down for some rest. An unusual   
peace, after the hectic first two days of the siege and yet one sorely craved by all.   
  
Most of the transgenics needed some sleep, and while Max did not, she was   
happy to have found a quiet spot. She felt drained of energy, swamped with   
organizational matters she hated dearly. If ever, Manticore had trained her to be a   
soldier, not a manager.   
  
It wasn't really the lack of sleep that was bothering her, but rather the lack of   
space. Constantly being surrounded by people asking for her advice, barging in   
on her in need of immediate attention, and always having to jump in to avert   
disaster more than once every few hours – all which had left her head spinning.   
She didn't need sleep. That's the way she was made. She just needed a few   
moments for herself. She didn't need sleep. Just rest.... No, no sleep. All she   
needed was...  
….  
Once again, her eyes fluttered open, but this time she was wide-awake. Indeed,   
she needed some time to think things over, to digest the events and come up with   
a plan of action. But this was not it. Personal matters could wait. Outside her   
room, one of the very few having a door in Terminal City, she could hear steps.   
Her senses screamed at her to get up and prepare to fight. And yet she remained   
seated, almost holding her breath.   
  
It wasn't unusual for people to be up at night. There were guards; maybe there   
was an emergency... But the steps had slowed down, as if hesitating. She silently   
congratulated herself for not turning on the light bulb that was still silently   
dangling over her head. Still nothing. Silence. The steps had stopped.   
  
Max didn't' dare hope the person would go away, leaving her to her thoughts.   
She had learned the hard way that hope brought nothing. Someone would come   
in, or not, would be an enemy, or maybe not. It would not be a friend though. She   
barely had one or two left of those. So be it. She was ready. Outside her door,   
feet shuffled, a few steps echoed silently and then it came.   
  
In the silence of the room, the knock seemed to shatter her ears. Must be some   
X6 guard, too shy to disturb her in the dark. Sighing, Max reached up to pull on   
the string that would light the bulb when the backrest of the old chair gave way   
and sent her sprawling to the cold concrete floor.   
  
The sound of the door opening with a squeak drowned her muffled curse. She   
wasn't going to be caught flat out on her ass by anyone, even if the darkness   
covered her momentary weakness. Max was about to propel herself off the floor   
when she felt rather than saw Logan's lanky silhouette profiled against the door   
frame, all tense, ready to jump:   
  
"Max? Are you okay?"   
  
For a second Max allowed herself to sink back in a seated position on the floor.   
Logan. There was no emergency after all. Of all the people she had imagined   
could search for her at this hour, it had been Logan, the one she had successfully   
avoided for the past few days, seemingly without protest from him, until she had   
finally ceased to expect him. No, she hadn't forgotten, how could she. She had   
just blocked him out of her mind and apparently he had done the same with her,   
all taken up with the computers they had managed to set up.   
  
"Max?" This time his voice came nearer as he strode in, concern evident in his   
voice. "Are you alone?" She had forgotten he couldn't see in the darkness.   
Frantic, Max got up and reached for the light bulb string. _It was dark, what if he   
came too close?_ And then, as she was sure there was enough distance between   
them, another question popped up.   
  
_Why would he think she wasn't alone? _Oh. The answer occurred to her just as the   
sudden light flooded the room, low in intensity and yet harsh enough to make   
Logan squint.   
  
"I'm here." She had hoped to let annoyance seep into her answer, to let him   
know that it wasn't okay to just barge in on her like that. All she had managed   
was a soft, reassuring tone. Damn.   
  
Still somewhat blinded by the light right above Max, Logan looked around the   
room, finally discovering the rests of the chair. "You sure you're unleashing the   
wrath of the avenging angel on the right object?"   
  
A playful smile escaped her lips, as if she was considering him as an alternate   
target. "Dix mentioned we needed more firewood to heat the areas on the other   
side of the compound."   
  
The corners of his mouth rose in answer and for a fleeting moment, their eyes   
met.   
  
But Max recovered quickly. "I was hoping we could spare this door from the   
bonfire, it's not like you can get much privacy around here."   
  
He chuckled dryly and then blushed, recognizing the tease as the question it was.   
3 AM wasn't a normal time to call on someone, not even on transgenic leaders   
under siege.   
  
Logan had been mulling this over in the past few days, and several times he had   
been close to dismissing it, for various reasons. Almost 48 hours spent on the   
phone or at the computers with barely enough sleep to keep his head from hitting   
the keyboard weren't helping his reasoning skills. And then, when he had finally   
seen the date and realized there was a pretty simple way of putting his plan into   
action, he had ran to her, oblivious of the time. Or maybe he had been afraid he   
could change his mind if he slept over it. After all, there was one reason he was   
doing it and one reason only. Personal matters wouldn't wait. Time was running   
out on them.  
  
"Logan?" A shade of pink showed under his scruff and Max wondered why he   
had suddenly fallen silent. "What happened?"  
  
Piercingly blue eyes rose to meet hers once again and he gave her an answer that   
sent her mind into a spin.   
  
"Do you know what date we're having tomorrow? Well, today," he amended,   
with a glance at his watch.  
  
Max frowned, her thoughts racing. _It couldn't be the second anniversary of the   
day they had met, that had been a few days ago and all they had done was hold   
hands on the roof of a besieged building. His birthday? No... The one she had   
chosen for herself? Not even close. What was it then?_ Puzzled, she dared him to   
give her a good reason for coming over in the middle of the night after they had   
seemingly both gone through so many pains to avoid each other.   
  
"No, what?"  
  
An excited little boy grin lit up Logan's face. "It's October 31st, All Hallow's   
Eve. Halloween...."  
  
All Max could do was stare at him dumbfounded.  
  
"You know, the night the spirits of the dead come out to haunt the living.... It's   
been celebrated in many cultures over the centuries, Pomona for the Romans,   
Samhain for the old Celts..."  
  
"Logan!" Max' face was by now contorted in confusion. "Have you lost your   
mind?"   
  
But Logan didn't seem to heed her.   
  
"Would you come trick or treating with me tomorrow night, Max?"   
  
It was this invitation that finally convinced Max of the sad reality. The toxic   
waste of Terminal City had started to affect Logan's sanity.  
  
  
TBC...   
  
_Once again, be warned, this is what happens when you have to interrupt work   
because of a blazing headache and you crawl under the cool covers of the   
darkened bedroom, unable to do anything but suffer in silence. And no, I'm not   
obsessed with Halloween. On the contrary, I enjoy my country's equivalent much   
more and have never been trick or treating. Yet.   
  
_  



	2. Part two

**Part two **  
  
_AN: If this story sounds familiar to you it's probably because there were   
some traces of "In the Happpy Now" lingering in my head. If you must,   
you could consider it somewhat of a continuation with a slightly different   
premise. But as it is, it's meant as a stand alone. Thanks for the   
encouragement. _  
  
  
If it hadn't been for the blasted virus, Max would have liked to go up close   
and personal with Logan and enlighten him as to the errors of his ways. Here   
she was, unwilling leader of a pack of motley transgenics whom the   
assembled police and NSA forces in front of the gate, give or take a few   
familiars, could hardly wait to blow to pieces on sight. And Logan, Logan of   
all people, remembered that it was freaking Halloween and asked her to go   
trick or treating no less. She wouldn't have expected this, not even from   
Alec or Joshua.  
  
Her disappointment must have shown on her sagging features and yet Logan   
still sported that half grin she almost had a mind to kiss off; he was still   
waiting for a verbal reaction to complement the array of confusion,   
annoyance and rage that had followed one another on her face.   
  
Max sighed, trying to control herself. "Logan, if you think that I have even   
one second for that mindless attempt of yours to... to... I don't even know   
what!" Her shoulders heaved with exasperation. "Can't you see all those gun   
slinging machos out there waiting for our slightest mistake? Are you nuts?!   
Which reminds me. We need to get you, Original Cindy and Sketchy out of   
here."   
  
"Max, I never thought I'd say this, but you need to lighten up a bit and let us   
help you. All those responsibilities are getting to be too much."   
  
Max was almost touched by his caring, but she was too enraged to give in to   
the feeling. "And the way to get rid of all that is to celebrate Halloween,   
right? Like there aren't enough transhumans around here, like I'm not a   
monster myself! Or maybe that's what you meant?" she challenged, a   
sickening tendril of doubt creeping into her heart.   
  
Maybe he had finally realized that in spite of the alluring packaging, she was   
in fact just as much a monster as Mole and the others. Maybe he had finally   
seen her as the queen of the nest. It was almost relieving to think that   
everybody knew by now. She was what she was and that was it. And he…   
he needed to get out of Terminal City.  
  
Logan's features darkened. "No, Max, all I mean is that you need help. I   
thought…"  
  
"Help? Even professional help, maybe?" Max interrupted, a sneer on her   
face.  
  
Logan recoiled at seeing her so strung up. Sure, he thought it would be   
fitting, but he had never expected her to blow off like that. It had started so   
well… Almost like old times. If only she'd let him finish….  
  
"Max, by trick or treating I meant going out to get some ammo and supplies   
I managed to scrounge up. I thought with Halloween we could have a better   
chance of remaining undetected once we're out of Terminal City."  
  
Max looked at him once again like he had sprouted an extra eye on his   
forehead.   
  
"Er… Supplies? Oh…" Silence enveloped the two while her mind was   
working feverishly. Maybe she was the one going crazy under pressure.   
Still…   
  
"I'll try to send Alec, although I really don't know if he can get through."  
  
"It won't work, Max. I went through a lot of trouble to set things up and we   
need to do it through this informant. He won't give up the intel to anyone   
but me. Plus, it would be a good way for you to relax a bit, kick some ass   
here and there, just not too much."   
  
Still looking at him suspiciously, Max wondered what Logan was up to.   
"Okay, I'll send someone with you. Any preferences?"  
  
"You, Max." Logan had stepped forward and was now meeting her gaze.   
  
It wasn't as if this came totally unexpected. But for some reason, he wasn't   
getting it. She had responsibilities here. There was so much to do, so much   
to prepare for. White or the military could launch an attack at any time. The   
situation was explosive. And he wanted her to sneak out with him and go on   
a wild goose chase. Well, not exactly. They were supposed to get supplies.   
Still… What was going on?   
  
"Logan, you either tell me what is going on, now, or this conversation is   
over." Her tone was unmistakably that of a leader and Logan could not   
disregard that.  
  
"We need to go meet an informant and we get the supplies he provides for   
us. That's it. I need you to be there to make decisions about the weapons and   
ask questions you need answers to."  
  
"And Alec can't do that? Or you can't do that over the cell phone?"  
  
He had her. That one moment he knew he had almost won. "I need you to be   
there, Max. There are decisions no one else can take but you. Trust me."  
  
She had him. Indeed, there were decisions only she could take. He would   
never accept to leave Terminal City on his own. And while she needed him   
next to her, so much so that it hurt, she also needed to get him out before the   
shit hit the fan. And this was the perfect opportunity. They would go on a   
supply run together. But only she would come back. For one moment she did   
think of his reaction to her intentions, but she figured she'd cross that bridge   
when she got there. It was the perfect occasion.  
  
"I do, Logan. I trust you. We'll go get the stuff and we'll be back before   
White can even blink." Max tried hard to make her voice sound cheerful, but   
somehow she failed. Logan however, didn't seem to notice.  
  
"Good. I'll go scrounge up some costumes."  
  
"Hey, anything you can find, as long as it's not from the serpent family."   
Max' pitiful attempt at a joke got her a small grin from Logan. "Oh, and   
while you're at it, we need some for Original Cindy and Sketchy, too. They   
both need to go home." The rest of her thoughts remained unspoken   
between them, a specter they were both aware of but chose not to deal with   
at that moment.   
  
"Get some sleep, Max." Logan almost stepped forward, only to turn on his   
heel at the last moment and head to the door.  
  
"You, too, Logan." His back was already half turned on her, but when he   
heaved the door up to be able to close it without causing anymore damage,   
their eyes met for a long second. Stepping out, Logan slowly pushed the   
broken door almost closed, giving up on the last inch, for fear it would fall   
apart.  
  
Behind him, the faint light crept out through the crack and illuminated a   
small portion of the corridor. Logan closed his eyes. That must have been   
the best acting performance in his life.  
  
TBC…   
  
  
  



End file.
